


Christmas Eve, Pre-Journey

by incandescence



Category: Hey! Say! JUMP, Johnny's Entertainment
Genre: Antlers, Crack, JUMP wear santa hats, M/M, Santa Claus - Freeform, SnowJUMP courtesy of a certain someone, surprise fluff at the end because i apparently can't control myself
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-25
Updated: 2014-12-25
Packaged: 2018-03-03 12:15:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,563
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2850533
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/incandescence/pseuds/incandescence
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Santa is sick, so it's up to Yuto to ensure everything runs smoothly tonight.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Christmas Eve, Pre-Journey

**Author's Note:**

  * For [takajima](https://archiveofourown.org/users/takajima/gifts).



> Merry Christmas to [turtleheartz](archiveofourown/users/turtlehearts), the bae. I don't know why I suddenly decided to try my hand at crack; all I knew is that after looking at the Christmas stickers I bought last month for no reason other than that they were cute, I wanted Yuto to ride a reindeer. Hope you enjoy. ♥

Yuto leans back in the saddle, easing Tamu into a trot with a gentle tug on the reins. “Over there, Tamu,” he tells his ride, nudging his flank with a thigh. Tamu wuffles and allows himself to be steered off the path, towards the white sculpture that had caught Yuto’s interest.

As they approach, Yuto begins to laugh, clinging tightly onto Tamu’s reins in an attempt to not pitch sideways onto the snow. Tamu slows down on his own accord to walk a wide circle around it. The similarity is uncanny, Yuto notes when the initial hysteria has bubbled down; the impish grin and cute button nose identical to the muse’s. Yuto can’t tell perched on top of Tamu, but he’s pretty sure the height is accurate, too.

“He’s outdone himself this time,” Yuto murmurs. Tamu snorts in agreement, stamping a hoof into the snow, impatient to get moving again. Sighing, Yuto wheels him around to canter back to the path. “Okay, okay, we’re going. Calm your antlers.”

Chinen’s cottage is only a couple of hundred metres from the snowman. Yuto tilts his head when he dismounts, listening for any kind of noise coming from the house, but there’s nothing. He leads Tamu around the back, where he finds Satoshi munching on some feed. “Hey there Satoshi, I’m just going inside to talk to your rider.” Satoshi glances up to acknowledge him for only a brief moment before turns back to eating, though she does shift slightly to the edge of the feed tub. Tamu’s already been fed, but Yuto thinks it’s a nice gesture nevertheless.

He raps on the door three times, waits a few minutes, then lets himself in. Chinen’s hard at work, glasses almost touching the wooden desk, a large square board in front of him, a handful of small tokens scattered everywhere. It takes dragging a chair to the opposite side of the table and leaning over to pluck a token from Chinen’s hair for Yuto to be noticed.

“Yutti! I wasn’t expecting to see you today. Is Santa not well?” He hops off his stool to pick up a couple of fallen tokens, and his christmas hat.

“Flu,” Yuto says, pulling a face. He always warned Santa to take extra care of himself, especially during the holiday season, but Santa was as stubborn as he was generous. “I asked Hikaru to go take care of him.” 

“In better hands he won’t be,” Chinen agrees, pushing the manila document with his inventory count and updated residential addresses across the table, which Yuto carefully tucks into his messenger bag. There’s no-one else in the land who’s as prepared as Hikaru, nobody else who has shelves and shelves full of exotic medicine sourced from around the world, to be used for a wide range of ailments. Yuto had offered to give Santa a ride to Hikaru’s cottage, but Hikaru had insisted on coming to the chalet, and had brought an entire sack of medicine with him.

“Better to be safe than sorry!” had been Hikaru’s cheerful greeting to Yuto. “Don’t worry, we’ll get him all nice and ready for the journey tonight, won’t we, Keito?” he asked his reindeer, patting him on the head as he sniffed his agreement.

Yuto made his quick escape shortly afterwards; if Hikaru could fill an entire sack with cold medicine, it was frankly quite scary to think about what else he had in his arsenal of medication.

“So you’re fulfilling Santa’s duties for the time being?” Chinen pushes his glasses further up his nose and rests his elbows on the table. 

“The whole pre-journey shebang.” Usually Santa is the one to talk to the elves and reindeer before his journey, while Yuto and Tamu wait with the one-man sleigh outside, but being out of commission for the better part of the day means that the duty falls to Yuto and Tamu alone.

Chinen’s gaze is sympathetic. “Good luck.”

Yuto shrugs. It’s not much more of a sacrifice, being that he takes the route each year. He enjoys it, anyhow. There’s always something new to appreciate.

Speaking of which, “did you see your snowman?” he asks, remembering, to which Chinen lights up.

“Don’t I look great? I think he really captured my essence. You think he’ll freeze it for me if I asked him nicely? I want to have it all year round.”

He snorts through his laughter. “I don’t know, try it and see for yourself,” he suggests, pushing back his chair and standing up.

Chinen thinks about it, moving his head from side to side as he jiggles in his chair. “I will,” he says, then blinks. “Going already? You didn’t even get to try my new boardgame.”

Yuto’s already halfway to the door. “Yeah, you’re only the first elf I’ve seen today. Show me next time? Don’t get up, I’ll let myself out.” 

Tamu and Satoshi are deep in discussion when he rounds the corner again. “Sorry guys, I gotta get going. Seeya, Shi-chan.” He picks up Tamu’s lead from the floor, and together they walk back to the trail. 

He bypasses the route to his own place, because there’s no point checking in on himself, and almost misses a smouldering snowman Keito, guitar in hand, when he takes the well-worn shortcut through the woods to Keito’s place of residence. He nudges Tamu towards the water trough, and lets himself in with his copy of the key.

The seamster is at his workstation, busy with a mountain of wine and navy coloured silk, and barely looks up when Yuto enters. “I heard about Santa,” he calls over the sound of his machine. “The files are on the dresser over there, help yourself.”

Yuto crosses over to the dresser, stepping over Keito’s secondary machine, and a couple of rolls of white fabric. He spies the folder easily, on the dresser next to the big hat stand, and slides it out from underneath a smattering of bracelets and rings, where it joins the one he collected from Chinen.

“I’ll see you the day after tomorrow,” he shouts, the noise of the machine now louder than before. Keito grunts his acknowledgement, and Yuto slips out.

Instead of a gallop, he makes Tamu canter when they’re back on the road, because truth be told, he’s not really looking forward to the next visit. While he considers Yamada to be one of his Great Loves, the same degree of fondness can’t be applied to the jungle of vines Yamada calls his garden. Yuto always makes sure to steer clear of the greenhouse when he goes to see Yamada, but is never very lucky with the vines. When he nods his approval of snowman Yamada after a cursory inspection, Yuto’s sneeze nearly takes off the snowman’s cute nose. He twists guiltily in the saddle. Luckily most of the other elves are hard at work in their respective homes, and aren’t around to play witness.

Tamu’s wuffle sounds suspiciously like laughter. Frowning, Yuto leans forward and lifts the reins, and they gallop towards the cottage. Might as well get it over with.

Yamada’s standing at the door, a mask in hand, when they approach, and Yuto’s dismount occurs half from will, half as a result from a sneeze. “I heard you from a mile away,” he remarks, ushering Yuto inside while Tamu trots off to find Sora.

“Can’t you do something about your damn vines,” Yuto grumbles, putting on the mask. More violent sneezes ensue while he scrabbles in his pockets to find the most recent bottle of hay fever medicine Hikaru brought back.

Yamada winces, and pushes a glass of water into his hands. “Sorry.”

He swallows. “‘s fine,” Yuto mumbles, downing the rest of the water. At least now there’s medicine he can take. Fifty years ago, it was a different story. For the first time since his arrival, his eyes sweep across the room. Multiple bars of soap are stacked in a corner, all colour-coded and ceiling high, and baskets of food completely cover the kitchen counter, protected by a thirty hour warming charm. Yamada reaches for a shelf and hands him a jar of strawberry jam along with his folder. 

Yuto’s mood perks right up. “Thanks Yama-chan.” He beams, turning the jar over in his hand and spies the pattern on the lid. “Aww is this heart for me?” he teases, and swoops down to press a sloppy kiss to Yamada’s cheek.

Predictably, Yamada squirms something terrible, his face all scrunched up in the way Yuto thinks is ridiculously cute. “Gross,” he complains, shoving at Yuto’s chest with one hand.

Yuto just hops away laughing. “I’ll think of you whenever I eat this,” he promises, waving the jar in the air, and runs out before Yamada can change his mind.

Once outside, he decides to take a quick look at the files, and sits with his back against the wall on the small stool Yamada keeps outside, while Sora and Tamu butt noses in front of him. He can’t decide whether it was a sound decision or not the minute he opens the first file, written in an obnoxious pink shade that has Yuto cursing and squinting, his nose barely inches from the parchment, lamenting leaving his glasses on the counter at home. Eyes watering, he resolves to find whoever gave the pen to him, though he has a sneaking suspicion it was Inoo or Yamada, because while everybody finds it difficult to say no to Chinen, those two have it the worst. Keito’s would be unintelligible were it not for Yuto having a century of friendship to work on deciphering, and there’s nothing to complain about Yamada’s, in big loopy writing that’s a treat to the eyes. Everything about Yama-chan is perfect, Yuto tells Sora, who crinkles her eyes and nods in agreement.

He snaps all three files shut, satisfied that there’s nothing yet out of the ordinary. Yuto suspects that when he’s collected all nine, the total numbers of the ‘good’ list will reveal a strict adherence to the negative linear trend.

If he thought Chinen’s snowman was cute, Daiki’s is, too. Yuto can’t even stop himself from smiling back at the grinning sculpture, one hand stretched out in front in a peace sign. Loud sparking noises can be heard even from here, so Yuto has Tamu slow to a walk, keeping a sharp lookout for out of control electricity. Yuto knows for a fact that Inoo personally fixed the cracks in the walls and barricaded the chimney, but.

“Throw these on,” Daiki shouts at him, and a pair of earmuffs and safety glasses find their way into Yuto’s hands.

He removes his hands from his ears just long enough to put the earmuffs on, breathing a sigh of relief when he can no longer hear anything. On go the glasses while Daiki rummages around the mountain of tablets and mp3 players. Yuto turns his attention to the spectacle in front of him. 

He’s so absorbed watching the laptop construction that doesn’t notice Daiki appear at his elbow until a file is being waved in front of his face.

“Thanks!” he shouts, before remembering to give a thumbs up instead.

It takes him five minutes to find and coax Tamu out of Penguin’s cave, because the industrial strength reindeer earmuffs Daiki leaves hanging at the entrance of the cave are as strong as their human counterparts, and both reindeer are, of course, hiding in the very back of the cave. 

He takes both their earmuffs off when they’re a safe distance away, and stores them in his bag. He’ll return them to Daiki the day after Christmas.

They continue along the path at a gallop, because Yuto isn’t sure if Hikaru is back or not, intending to do just a quick check. He returns a smirk to the snowman they pass, and proceeds onto the house when they see that the lights are on.

As head elf, Yuto is on a tight deadline, but he can’t resist sinking down behind the drum kit and beating out a rhythm to the low croon of Hikaru’s bass.

“I have done my part in testing your equipment,” he says solemnly after the last of the notes fade away, leaving them both gasping and sweating and sinking to the floor.

Hikaru chokes out a laugh before gesturing to the windowsill behind Yuto; he turns and stores the folder amongst with the rest, along with new music scores he’ll definitely peruse tonight.

“He’s resting now,” Hikaru says when Yuto asks about Santa, once they’ve both caught their breath, “he’ll be fine tonight, don’t you worry.”

“Thanks Hikka.” Yuto claps him on the shoulder on the way out. Soft chords follow them through the open window, and Yuto only asks Tamu to break into a canter when all they can hear is silence.

“Where can I get a hat like yours?” Yuto shouts in greeting, once he’s stopped laughing. 

Inoo doesn’t straighten out of his pose until Tamu brings Yuto right in front of the snowman, that hat and the snow being the only difference between the two. “Right here,” he says, pulling a yellow hardhat off his head to reveal… another yellow hardhat.

“How many hats does one need,” Yuto asks, immediately swapping it with his elf hat. He puts the elf hat on one of Tamu’s antlers for safekeeping.

“Shut your mouth,” Inoo says, his face serious, though his eyes say otherwise. “And how many shoes does our young master Yuto have?”

“Point taken,” Yuto concedes, stirring Tamu into motion once more. Inoo ambles beside them, filling their ears with airy chatter before he remembers the file in his bag.

“I brought it out here for you,” he explains, taking the liberty to place it in Yuto’s bag himself. “You do not want to come inside right now.”

“Busy at work, I take it?” Yuto asks, raising an eyebrow.

“Let’s just say exactly half of my house is full of Lego right now.”

“Let me guess, the half nearest to the door?”

Inoo’s silence is answer enough, coupled with the expression of guilt on his face. Yuto remembers the sleeping bag he saw in the corner of Hikaru’s room, and decides to keep his mouth shut. “The other half is tools,” Inoo offers, as though that makes a difference.

“Good luck shovelling your way in,” he teases when they reach the house, and Inoo raises a hand in mock salute as they wheel off.

There’s another cottage that’s closer than Yabu’s, but Yabu’s is the next one he heads to anyway, swinging towards it in a wide arc. He returns Tamu’s obnoxious snort with a scoff of his own. “I don’t know why you’re complaining, you’ll get fed at Yabu’s.” At that, Tamu’s pace picks up just that little bit faster.

“I can’t see your snowman’s lovely eyes,” he tells Yabu when dusk has just settled, casting a dark orange glow overhead.

Yabu’s response scrunch up his face, in exact replica of the masterpiece outside.

There’s a mug of hot chocolate waiting for him on the table as usual, and Yuto settles into the chair with a sigh.

“Long day?” Yabu asks, stretching out in his own chair, fishnet bags full of all different shapes, colours and sizes at his feet. Lacrosse sticks are stored just above his head, nestled in the top shelf of the bookcase, bats and racquets taking up the rest of the space underneath.

Yuto just groans his response, taking a deep swig of his hot chocolate. Yabu laughs, understanding, and lets the silence grow between them.

“You’re early today,” he says when Yuto sets his mug back down.

Yuto just shrugs as he hops back onto his feet. “I’m taking this,” he says, lifting the file from the table and waving it around in blatant ignorance of the knowing look in Yabu’s eyes. “Thanks for the cocoa!” He hastily turns on his heel and strides across the room but Yabu just laughs and waves him off, making no move to stop him. Yuto shuts the door behind him with a sigh of relief.

“Come on Tamu,” he says softly to his partner before mounting, lifting a hand to scratch behind his ears. “Just a bit more to go, okay?”

Tamu snuffles against his chest and nuzzles into his palm. Tired after almost a full day of work, he lets Tamu lead the way at his own pace, content to sit back and close his eyes.

When he opens them, the sun has long since set, but if he squints Yuto can make out two silhouettes in front of him, basking in the glow of the surrounding streetlamps. Tamu raises his head slightly and snorts.

“Okay, okay, I get the message, I’m going. Don’t you dare run away,” he says, only half joking. He barely stifles a yawn as he approaches the two unmoving figures.

“What do you think?” a voice asks when he halts right in front of them.

“I like the real one better,” he dismisses with a wave of his hand without even looking at it. He doesn’t need to, to know it’s just as good as all the other ones.

Takaki snorts, but when Yuto topples forward on purpose, catches him in his arms anyway. “You can’t even see it in the dark.”

“Don’t need to,” he mumbles into Takaki’s shoulder. “‘s perfect. You’re perfect.”

“Wow, thanks,” Takaki says drily, and then Yuto’s being hoisted up, back on his feet once more.

“Let’s go, Tamu,” Yuto calls without looking back as Takaki, arm around his waist, leads him back to the cottage.

Choco is already waiting for them when they arrive, sleigh attached, presents all loaded inside a thick burlap sack. “Vials of festive cheer for those who need it, all ready to go,” Takaki murmurs. Pulling away slightly, Yuto lifts the bag of now-considerable weight over his head, and slots it between the bag and the edge of the sleigh.

“All ready to go when you are, Choco. Do your best tonight,” Takaki tells her, and she’s off after a fond snuffle. 

Out on the porch, Yuto strokes Tamu’s nose. “You did good today.” Tamu heaves a long sigh through his nose. “Yeah, I feel you,” Yuto agrees. “Go, get some rest now.” Tamu doesn’t need to be told twice, butting his head on Yuto’s chest before turning around and trotting off towards the stable.

He staggers into Takaki’s arms again with a clumsiness that is only partly intentional, and can’t muster up the energy to protest when he’s steered towards the kitchen even though all he wants to do is to collapse into bed. “You need to eat,” Takaki says firmly, planting his hands on Yuto’s shoulders until he sinks into a chair.

“Will you feed me?” Yuto asks, propping up his chin with a palm before he faceplants into his soup.

Takaki’s already sliding out his own chair, chuckling as he pulls the steaming bowl towards him. “Say ah,” he teases, and Yuto obeys.

When every drop of soup has been scraped from the bowl, and all the dishes are cleaned, no thanks to Yuto, who Takaki exiled to the lounge room by means of forcefully pushing him to the couch, fully aware of Yuto’s current incapacity, Takaki wrestles him to the bathroom.

“You’ll thank me tomorrow,” Takaki sighs, as patient as he is every year.

“Not if I fall asleep and drown,” Yuto grumbles, but he gets into the shower anyway, and slowly and laboriously cleans all the dirt away. They brush their teeth side by side, Takaki letting Yuto rest his head on his shoulder, then make their way to the bedroom, where Yuto collapses face first in the middle of the bed.

“I really liked your surprise,” he mumbles into the sheets, allowing Takaki to shuffle him gently to one side.

Takaki hums, tugging at the blankets and sheets until he’s satisfied they’re covering Yuto. “I’m glad you did,” he says, getting into bed himself, and Yuto sighs happily at the memory of all the snowmen. “Did you have time to see yours?”

Yuto shakes his head even as Takaki lifts it to slide a pillow underneath. “No. I sent Raido off with the memories early this morning, didn’t manage to get around that side of the house. Besides,” he says, and makes a great effort to turn onto his side to face Takaki, “I was thinking we could go view it together. Tomorrow. Not moving anymore today.”

“I’d like that,” Takaki agrees, turning away to turn off the lights. “They’ll last as long as I say so, anyway.”

“Chinen would love that,” Yuto grins in the dark, and Takaki chuckles. Truth be told, Yuto doesn’t see anything wrong with permanent snowmen scattered around the land either, but he knows that part of Takaki’s enjoyment stems from continuous thinking of new things to sculpt. He’ll make sure to take a picture tomorrow, before they’re taken down, to do what he does best, which is to savour the memories.

Yuto feels Takaki settling into bed beside him, and reaches out a hand to clasp Takaki’s own amongst the sheets. Satisfied with his day’s work, he mumbles a quiet “Merry Christmas,” into his pillow, barely catching a response as he drifts off into a peaceful slumber.

**Author's Note:**

> In case it wasn't clear, the elves all send their gifts in mini-sleighs attached to their own personal reindeer. Santa then stores all the bags into his majestic sleigh, and uses all the reindeer sent to him, as well as his own personal one, to carry everything. Inoo has two reindeer, Jam and Ann, and Santa has two of his own, making it a total of twelve. :D I totally had this all thought out.


End file.
